


Milestones

by horationelson



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure Family, Babies, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Family, Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Post-Uncharted 4, elena is trying really hard to not be a helicopter mom, in the same universe as my first uc fic so the stupid nickname pops up, post-end of game but pre-epilogue, ucladiesweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 09:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9813584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horationelson/pseuds/horationelson
Summary: Elena wants to encourage Cassie's first word. It doesn't necessarily go as planned. Adventure family ficlet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic from your friendly neighborhood Uncharted trashcan! A quick ficlet for Uncharted Ladies Week, day 6, which is all about Cassie and Pema, though I suppose this could go for Elena's day as well. No beta because I'm super eager to get this trash out of my hands.

Cassie Drake was smart. All someone had to do was look at her parents to see where she got it from; Elena had a master's degree, and Nate had read almost every book ever sat in front of him. In addition to smart, Nate and Elena were also supremely proud of their little girl and all she had already accomplished. She was smart, friendly, curious, and cute as hell. That last one really couldn't be discounted.

By nine months, Cassie was pulling herself up onto every surface she could reach, causing both of her parents to start putting the dangerous and expensive possessions up just a bit higher. (There was one awkward incident when Elena turned around to see Cassie trying to rip a condom open with her teeth. Nate, in all his timeliness, happened to walk past the bedroom at just the right moment, commenting that she'd learned something from her mother. Elena smacked him first chance she got.) She was also fond of standing against the couch and then throwing herself toward the coffee table, in true Nate Drake fashion. The Baby's First First Aid Kit Sully had bought them as a joke was already coming in handy.

Talking, though, was a milestone she hadn't quite reached yet. Cassie babbled like nothing else (once again showing her genes, for better or worse) but hadn't formed any actual words, though not for Elena's lack of trying. Today was no different: Nate was away for the afternoon, gone into the city for a television interview. He'd offered to take Cassie with him -- "People love babies on TV, Lena. Love 'em." -- but Elena kept her home for some mama-baby time. Plus, Elena _really_ wanted to get in ahead of her husband with the 'teaching Cassie to talk' thing, because she'd heard Nate and Sam talking about how funny it would be if Cassie's first word was something inappropriate.

"Okay, Button." Elena could hardly believe she was actually using that nickname, and, worse, thought it was _cute_. Nate was awful. She scooped up Cassie and sat with her on the couch, focusing her attention on the task at hand. She was going to teach their baby to talk, damn it. "Mama's gonna teach you how to talk today, so you'll have something to show daddy when he comes home. How's that sound?"

Cassie squinted her eyes and continued chewing on the rice cracker hanging out of her mouth, so Elena took that as a good sign. At least she wasn't trying to fling herself off the sofa or ride Vicky. That was a frequent stunt. Pulling her legs up beneath herself, Elena leaned forward to be at eye level with Cassie. She had a master's in journalism. Surely she could get some words out of her own baby. Elena knew exactly where she was going to start, too: "Mama!"

Cassie looked at her mother but didn't open her mouth, still contented by the treat she'd been drooling all over for the last half hour. "Mmmmmm." That was _probably_  about the rice cracker, but it was definitely a start. She was making the right noises, at least.

The rice cracker was going to be a problem, though, so Elena carefully pulled it out of Cassie's mouth and dropped the soggy mass on the coffee table. How did babies produce so much saliva? Attention refocused, Elena encouraged, "Mama, Cass. Can you say mama?"

The little scrunched up nose that Cassie _definitely_  didn't inherit from Elena made an appearance. Her mostly-brown eyes were also squinting, showing that both of them were bound and determined to get something accomplished. Elena just worried Cassie's accomplishment might have been a full diaper. "Mmm. Mmmm?"

Elena tapped her own mouth as she slowly enunciated each syllable. "Ma-ma. Mama." They were going to get this, damn it! (She and Nate were also learning to watch their mouths. Hadn't quite gotten to the internal dialogue yet, though.) She noticed Vicky's little nose poke around the far end of the sofa; they'd bought the dog just two months ago, but Vicky was already a beloved member of the family -- an inquisitive one, just like her human big sister.

Cassie didn't seem to notice the intrusion yet. "Ah?"

"Mama."  
  
"Ah!"

The dog saw the almost-conversation as a moment to strike, so she came around the corner and pranced toward them. Vicky and Cassie were definitely sharing bad habits. Elena used one hand to hold Cassie on the sofa and the other to gently swat the dog away, preventing her from grabbing the mushy rice cracker on the table. "No, no, Vicky."

Finally noticing the distraction, Cassie reached out and pointed one chubby finger at the dog. Her eyes quickly shifted focus back to her mother's face, and a grin spread out across her softly-freckled face. "Pup! Mmm, pup!"

Elena couldn't help but gasp a little herself, overjoyed at her daughter's delight and the fact she actually said a _word_. She wasn't even going to entertain the idea that perhaps it was just a flub. Cassie pointed at the dog, and Cassie said 'pup.' That was a word. Elena had gained another Mom Level. (And Cassie had also called her 'Mmm,' which was probably definitely her version of 'mama.' In your face, Nate.) "Yes, Cassie! Vicky's a puppy! Good job! Puppy!" 

Cassie laughed, leaning over her mother's arm to grab wildly at the little blond dog. She couldn't quite reach, but she definitely had the Drake drive. "Pup! Mmm!"

Okay, it wasn't 'mama.' But it also wasn't 'crap,' so Elena would take it.

**Author's Note:**

> I whine and make a lot of unintelligible noises on [tumblr](http://horationelson.tumblr.com).


End file.
